As others have documented, almost all the GM EV1 cars were either crushed or donated to universities and museums with their motor controllers permanently disabled. As far as I'm aware, there are one or maybe two surviving EV1s that can be driven. One belongs to the Smithsonian. Rumor has it that at least one remains in private hands due to GM's sloppy bookkeeping, though it can't be revealed because GM would consider it stolen. And that's all.
Or is it?
Remember there are quite a few (about 40 or so?) "disabled" EV1s out there without working controllers. However. . . Often overlooked is that GM marketed an electric Chevy S-10 pickup truck. It used exactly the same motor, batteries and controller as the EV1. About 50 of these trucks were sold -- not leased. They're still out there somewhere. In theory, someone could pull the controller from one of those pickups, install it into one of the "disabled" cars, and have a fully functional, fully legal EV1. Such a car would be tremendously valuable to car collectors.
One man has tried to do this. He established a small business (EV Bones LLC) maintaining and refurbishing the electric S-10 pickups. He tried to wheedle a disabled EV1 out of the various universities and other institutions, but after a while he gave up on that and is now working on something different. Now he is trying to adapt the S-10 powertrain into a K1 Attack Roadster!
For those not familiar with it, the K1 Attack is a less sophisticated competitor to the Lotus Elise. It has primarily been sold as a kit, which allows it to be legally assembled and registered without all the airbags and other regulatory equipment. The K1 Attack was also used as the basis of this car: http://www.autoblog.com/2005/08/15/hybrid-attack/
More here. . . http://www.penn-partners.org/evteam/attack.htm
(I believe it has gone through several versions as they continue to improve it each year.)
Or is it?
Remember there are quite a few (about 40 or so?) "disabled" EV1s out there without working controllers. However. . . Often overlooked is that GM marketed an electric Chevy S-10 pickup truck. It used exactly the same motor, batteries and controller as the EV1. About 50 of these trucks were sold -- not leased. They're still out there somewhere. In theory, someone could pull the controller from one of those pickups, install it into one of the "disabled" cars, and have a fully functional, fully legal EV1. Such a car would be tremendously valuable to car collectors.
One man has tried to do this. He established a small business (EV Bones LLC) maintaining and refurbishing the electric S-10 pickups. He tried to wheedle a disabled EV1 out of the various universities and other institutions, but after a while he gave up on that and is now working on something different. Now he is trying to adapt the S-10 powertrain into a K1 Attack Roadster!
For those not familiar with it, the K1 Attack is a less sophisticated competitor to the Lotus Elise. It has primarily been sold as a kit, which allows it to be legally assembled and registered without all the airbags and other regulatory equipment. The K1 Attack was also used as the basis of this car: http://www.autoblog.com/2005/08/15/hybrid-attack/
More here. . . http://www.penn-partners.org/evteam/attack.htm
(I believe it has gone through several versions as they continue to improve it each year.)
I've followed the attack since it's release and just about everyone on attackforums.com has received theirs as an incomplete package. Supposedly the owner of the US distributor is a real PITA. Nice looking car though.
